Smile Again
by lauraclarkstories
Summary: After years of spending their marriage apart due to crazy schedules, the stars align and they soon find themselves ready to make the next step in life. What happens when the world turns upside down and all those plans come to a halt? Jess finds himself pulling out every trick in the book to make his wife smile again.


She heard the front door open but did not move from her spot on the couch. She doesn't remember when she turned on Netflix but episodes of a show continued to play. The volume was not turned up all the way but was loud enough to ring through the apartment. She heard a bag drop and footsteps began to come toward her. Her thumb immediately ran over the diamond that sat on her ring finger knowing the person who gave it to her was the one who was about to ask her how her day was. He has asked the same question everyday for the last three weeks. She knew he was worried about her even though he never fully voiced it. It just was not how he dealt with things. He showed it in a different way.

Suddenly the picture of the sitcom on the TV was blocked by his body as he sat on the coffee table that was placed across from the couch. He sighed as he found her bundled up on the couch with the soft blue blanket they bought the weekend they moved in covering her entire body up to her neck. She had no makeup on, her face puffy, her hair matted down. It broke his heart to see her still like this. He has not decided if she gets better or worse as the days go on.

He ran his hand through her short brown hair and leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead. His musk filled the air and it immediately made her feel safe. Her eyes fluttered open again and their eyes locked. Silence.

"Hey," he whispered to her keeping his hand on her head.

She sniffled and then answered him. "Hey."

"So," he started "How was your day?"

"You're looking at it." She said bluntly which made him laugh a little bit. She however, did not laugh.

"You hungry?" He asked hoping that she would say yes. She has barely eaten in two weeks. He swears she is losing weight and his biggest fear is that she will become skin and bones. She is already tiny as it is.

She just shrugged and then shifted on the couch. He sighed again knowing that he was not going to get her to eat. He left another kiss on her head and then stood up and walked to the kitchen. He began pulling out pots and pans and decided to just make some chicken and pasta. It was quick, it was filling and it was comfort food. He continued to move around the kitchen getting everything together when he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. She was standing in the doorway of the kitchen looking smaller then she usually does. It broke his heart.

"Did you change your mind about dinner?" He asked her holding just one bowl with a bag of flower. She shook her head no and he placed the bowl and flower on the counter and walked over to her. His hands started on her shoulders and moved up to her cheeks. Her head which felt like it weighed one thousand pounds fell gently into his hands. "Tell me whats on your mind pretty girl."

"I just..." she croaked out before tears started to stream down her face again. He pulled her into his chest and let her cry. This was also part of the routine. It had only been three weeks since Richards death but to Rory it felt like yesterday. Life is weird in a way where you can go from feeling on top of the world to having the entire world crumble around you in a matter of a few hours. Because that is what happened and for some reason she can not pull herself out of it.

 _She had just pressed send on her last election article. It felt like a huge relief to have it over. After an excruciating 18 months of following the different campaigns closely, interviewing multiple sources and traveling like crazy it all came down to this. Her last article. Her computer made a small noise signifying that the article was sent and she sat back in her chair and laughed to herself. It was a quick moment that was soon followed up by fear. What would her next beat be? She had lived and breathed this election cycle. Where would her career lead now? Her eyes immediately moved to a photo of her and her husband on their wedding day almost two years ago and she smiled._

 _She got caught up in her own day dream when she heard the front door open. She moved from her desk in their bedroom to the foyer where she saw him taking off his coat and putting his messenger bag over the chair. He ran his hands through his luscious dark locks and then gave his wife that million dollar smile. It is amazing how a single smile can transcend you back in time. She felt 17 again._

 _"Hey you!" He greeted as he came over and gave her a strong kiss. She giggled as her top lip was tickled by his new mustache._

 _"Hello yourself." She managed to get out when the kiss was broken. "I have to say Mr. this stache is going to take some getting used to."_

 _"Do you not like it?" He asked a little self conscious. "Because if you don't like it I can get rid of it."_

 _She giggled again as he let her thumb rub the ends on his mustache. "No no, I love it. It just_ _tickles a little. It makes you look so old...I'm into it."_

 _He scooped her up into his arms and kissed her once more. "So, today was the last article right?"_

 _"Yep! It's officially sent out. Over. Done. Fin. Complete." She beamed._

 _"Im very proud of you my little journalist."_

 _"Its just so surreal. I followed this for what seemed like forever and now its all over." She said. "And it got me thinking a little."_

 _Her husband turned to her and gave her a questionable look. "Should I be concerned with you thinking?" He joked._

 _"Watch it you." She scolded. "No I just got thinking we've both been non stop since we got married. Me with this campaign coverage, you with your novel. Now I have come into some time off and you are finishing up the last chapters..."_

 _"Uh huh..." He said waiting for her to just spit it out._

 _He watched as she started to get nervous. He always knew she was nervous because she would start to play with her hands and she couldn't stand still. Her fingers intertwined and her feet began moving back and forth. While she aways said it was her biggest weakness, he thought it was adorable._

 _"Ya know..."_

 _"Ror, come on spit it out." He said wanting her to finally just come out and say it._

 _"Okay okay!" She exclaimed. "Maybe we can revisit the whole...family...idea."_

 _"Seriously." He said trying to not show any emotion to hopefully throw her off. This is something they have talked about extensively over the years but always agreed it was never the right time. They were both just too busy._

 _"Yes."_

 _"Actually"_

 _"YES!" She exclaimed again._

 _"You really think this is the right time for this?" He pressed really wanting to throw her off course._

 _She sighed loudly and thew her arms over her chest. "I mean if you don't, its fine we can wait. It's just...I'm not getting any younger and while men can have babies until they are on their last breath I have a very small window. And I know you hated school and never paid any sort of the attention but in health class they should have explained that women have a very short window to bear children and every day that window gets smaller and smaller so either we get it going now or wait longer and my eggs will be shot and then we will be that old bickering couple in the nursing home where the nurses whisper about us about how we were too bitter to have children and how its so sad no one comes to take care of us."_

 _She began breathing heavy after her long rant and her husband let out a laugh. "Are you finished?"_

 _"I think so." she snapped._

 _"So you want a baby?" He asked pressing her more. He wondered how much longer this would be able to go on for._

 _"Maybe."_

 _"Maybe or yes?" He asked._

 _"Damn it. Yes okay! Yes!"_

 _As soon as the yes left her mouth she found herself being whisked off the floor and being pressed again the wall. Her husbands lips crashed onto hers and she felt her breath leave her. It was just like the first kiss they shared. Full of lust and love even if neither of them knew that was what it was at the time. Years later she knew that is what that feeling was. Her legs wrapped around his waist and her hands pulled at the bottom of his shirt to tear it off of him. His strong arms held her up on his body and he walked her back to their bedroom. He gently laid her down on their bed and kissed her cheek and then down her neck and along the mounds of her breasts._

 _Within seconds their clothing covered the floor and they were rolling in their sheets giggling to each other._

 _"My heart is racing." Rory confessed in her husbands arms._

 _"You sure you want to be a momma Mrs. Mariano?" He whispered to his wife which elicited a big smile which he took as a yes._

 _After two hours of the best love making the two have shared, Rory found the energy to roll out of bed and get snack. She pulled over one of her husbands flannel shirts, slipped on a pair of underwear, and padded into the fridge. She pulled open the door and let the cool air rush over her. She took a moment to savor this moment. It was a feeling that she could not describe._

 _Jess Mariano sat up in bed and looked over at the empty spot in bed. It was still warm. His wife, his smart, beautiful, loving wife was finally ready to make the jump. The jump that was many years in the making. His heart could burst for the love he had for his wife. She has made him a better man over the years and he would be lying if he said he doesn't think about where he would be without her at least once a day._

 _His phone began to go off and he reached over to the nightstand to pick it up. It was 9:30 P.M. LUKE DANES read across the caller ID. This was a late call for him but Jess did not think of it._

 _"Hey Luke, whats going on."_

 _Jess walked out to find his wife whisking a bowl of eggs. She looked amazing and when she turned around and smiled it broke his heart. She looked so happy._

 _"So I figured since we didn't really eat dinner I decided to make breakfast for dinner because lets face it everyone knows its better that way!" She poured the eggs in the pan and then turned back to her husband. "I heard the phone ring. Who was it?"_

 _"Uh," he scratched the back of his head. "it was Luke."_

 _"Luke! At this hour? Is everything okay?" She asked. When it took him a few seconds to answer she felt her heart race. "Babe?"_

 _"Your grandfather had a heart attack." He said and the earth seemed to stop. Rory turned the gas off the stove and turned to face Jess._

 _"Heart attack." She stated. "When?"  
_

 _"This afternoon."_

 _"Is he..." she couldn't bring herself to say it out loud. Jess just stood there and looked at a heartbroken Rory._

 _"I'm so sorry babe."_

 _He watched as the news hit her and as her knees buckled he was there to catch her and hold her up. She did not let out a sob or a cry it was just silence. Pure silence. "_ _Your mom and Luke thought that I should be the one to tell you."_

 _"Right." Rory mumbled._

 _Jess kissed her head a number of times and told her he loved her over and over again but she did not say anything. It was like this for a what seemed like ages. Rory broke apart from Jess and into their room. "I need to call mom."_

Rory had kept all of her emotions together until the funeral and thats when the flood gates opened and truly never stopped. Lorelai offered to come and stay with them but Rory insisted that she was fine and needed to go back to New York. Jess assured Lorelai that he would make sure that she was taken care of and even though for years Lorelai never trusted Jess, when him and Rory got back together she saw a whole new side of Jess. She trusted Jess more than anyone else when it came to Rory.

"Do you want to go to bed?" Jess asked her and she nodded into his chest. Jess moved and scooped Rory up in his arms and carried her back to the bedroom. He laid her down and pulled the covers over her and then laid down next to her. She began to cry harder and thats when Jess knew that he needed to help bring her back to life and pull herself together. "Hey hey look at me." He said to his wife as she continued to cry harder. Her tear-filled eyes locked with his and Jess began to go into coach mode. "Breathe in slow and then breathe out. Watch me." Jess exercised what he just told his wife and she began to do the same. The two sat and did this together for 5 or 6 rounds until Rory finally started to calm down. "Good girl." He rubbed her back slowly as she calmed herself down.

"Why can't I shake this?" Rory asked him. "I try to get up and do something and I can't. I can barely stand in the shower. I can barely eat. I feel heavy. My face feels swollen. I can't stop crying."

"Its okay babe, its okay." He soothed her hoping she would not upset herself again.

"Also, I took a pregnancy test today." she whispered.

"You went out to get one?" He questioned, shocked that she took a step outside. An improvement, he hoped.

"I had it delivered along with other things." She explained. Jess laughed a little to himself. Only in New York can you have a bag of snacks delivered and a pregnancy test. "It was negative."

Jess sighed and rubbed his wife's back more as she got upset again. "It was just the first time around hun, and it's been a hard month."

"Maybe its just not the right time." Rory blurted out. He knew she actually did not mean that.

It broke his heart to see her this broken. Rory has pulled him out of numerous ruts over the years. So many that he can barely even count. He took advantage of her strength and never expected to see her like this. Ever. He knew that no matter what that it was his job to bring his wife back even it was going to take every trick he had.


End file.
